The device relates generally to the field of strain relief devices for use with electrical connectors and more particularly to a removable plug-in strain relief device for use in a housing assembly having multiple plug-in connector locations.
It has been realized in the art of electrical connectors that it is useful to provide strain relief protection to preserve the electrical connection between a wire conductor and an electrical connector. Strain relief devices are designed to reduce excessive force, such as a pulling force, applied to a cable made up of a number of wire conductors in order to preserve the electrical contact.
Prior devices are typically of two main types. The first type of device provides for a strain relief component integrally molded to the connector housing, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,286 to Bianca. The second type of strain relief device is external to the connector housing. The latter appears in two categories: a protective yoke formed around the cable entering the connector assembly, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,840,581 to Leufert; or a strain relief device and a connector assembly both specially designed to couple together using a pair of molded projections on the sides of the housing assembly to mate with recesses on the strain relief, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,538,873 to Worth.
There is a need for a strain relief device that is modular for use without the need for a specially designed or molded housing assembly. There is a further need for a strain relief device that locks into a housing assembly designed for the use of multiple plug-in connectors without undergoing any additional molding or design.